Freedom of Information

Robinvale District Health Services shall extend to the community as far as possible the right of access to information in the possession of RDHS (as a Victorian and Commonwealth Government agency) following the guidelines of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and its amendments.

RDHS has systems in place which reflect legal requirements to ensure the confidentiality of information relating to clients, including the requirement for consent to release health information. The Director Corporate Services (DCS) is the RDHS nominated Freedom of Information (FOI) Officer.

The Freedom of Information Procedures Manual (4th Edition, May 2007) is updated as required by FOI Solutions and is maintained by the FOI Officer.

Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation has become part of the political fabric in Australia since its introduction in the early 1980’s. The Commonwealth and all States and Territories have their own FOI Acts.

Local councils in Victoria have since 1 January 1994 been subject to the FOI Act. The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has four main functions:

To provide a general right of access to documents;

To enable individuals to amend incorrect information about them held by government;

To provide rights of appeal in relation to the previous two functions;

To require agencies to publish certain details about themselves and their functions.